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James Harden tries to block out the critics, but this time he is firing back.
Harden was asked about a recent on-air rant from Dallas Mavericks analyst Brian Dameris of Bally Sports Southwest — which was ultimately deleted from the company’s X account — where Dameris alleged Harden was the problem with his team struggling since a blockbuster trade that landed him with the Los Angeles Clippers from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Instead of ripping Dameris back, he simply said that the analyst was ill-informed about the situation and that he is just focused on getting the Clippers back in the win column.
“I didn’t even hear exactly what he said, but people were telling me he was going in on me,” Harden told Bleacher Report. “He doesn’t know me or the situation. That would be f–ked up if I went at him and started being disrespectful to him, but I can’t.
“They don’t know anything. They just go off what they see on social media or hearsay.”
James Harden is SAVAGED in brutal rant by former Mavs exec Brian Dameris… before Clippers lose third straight game since his trade: 'You're not the beard, you're not the system, you're the problem!' pic.twitter.com/vwR0aGCRCL
— SHO’NUFF (@IAMSHO_NUFF) November 11, 2023
Harden added, “I don’t know exactly what he said, but I pay that s–t no mind… I do a really good job at ignoring the noise because it doesn’t affect me. It’s just people talking. “I guarantee that if you put whoever is talking in this situation, it wouldn’t be beneficial for them. That’s my mindset, but my focus is getting wins.”
The Clippers sent Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap, and an additional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 76ers for Harden.
Since the trade, they are 0-5.
However, Los Angeles will have an opportunity to get back in the win column when they return to action on Friday, November 17 against the Houston Rockets in Group Play of the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Tip-off at Crypto.com Arena is set for 10:30 p.m. ET
